April 1, 2015

The MASS is The ANSWER for it is "The Most BEAUTIFUL Thing This Side of Heaven"

IT MAKES SENSE TO ME

By Larry Peterson

The following is for people of all faiths. It is also directed to atheists, agnostics, and all secularists too. If you do not believe, you can make a choice and try to see with the eyes of a FAITH that is available to you. If you do not approve, please delete. Thanks---(N.B. I am not a theologian or anything close to it. I am just a blue-collar guy from the Bronx sharing the faith that he loves)
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Something deeply mystical happens on Holy Thursday that many people (this may include some Catholics) do not understand. I refer to the Mass of the Lord's Supper. Lent ends when this Mass begins, which is usually in the evening. This Mass commemorates the night when Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist giving us His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity forever. He did this within the framework of what we call the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

We must have the Mass to have the Eucharist. They are inseparable for it is within the Mass that the ordained Catholic priest can consecrate simple bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. Make no mistake, my friends, this is not a "remembrance" or a "memorial" or a "tribute". This is the unbloody sacrifice of the Cross being offered again and again and again to God the Father for all of us, for all time, in perpetuity.

We Catholics believe that Christ is TRULY PRESENT on the altar at Mass. These words are from the Roman canon: "we, your servants and your holy people, offer to your glorious majesty from the gifts that you have given us, this pure victim, this holy victim, this spotless victim, the holy bread of eternal life and the Chalice of everlasting salvation". Christ is with us and we, the people, are offering Him to God the Father. Our reward is the Risen Christ given back to us in The Eucharist by our Father in heaven. This is The Mystery of Faith and this is what we believe.

The meaning of this is beyond the pale. It transcends human comprehension. For this is when yesterday became today and tomorrow becomes yesterday. The Mass enables us to briefly step into eternity. And this Holy Sacrifice is being offered somewhere on planet Earth every day of the year round the clock. Imagine that, somewhere, every day, round the clock. It is the most beautiful thing this side of heaven.

I wrote this many years ago and I would like to
share it with you.The AnswerEvery minute somewhereUpon this EarthAmid chaos and painShadowed by greed and pridePerfection.While within so manySilent screams resonateAnd fade unheardPain unansweredYet each minuteA constant LightAlways there for us to shareSomewhere---The Answer

But---choicesPerfection unbridledThat tells us whyAnd will let us understandIf we choose to seethis splendid OblationA perfect purityThis gift called The MassIgnored yetSomewhere each minuteFor us to shareThe Answer thereThe Perfect LoveBut---choices.

The focus of the Lenten journey is preparation for Easter Sunday and the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Easter morning arrives and we sing out, "Alleluia, Alleluia! Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again." Eternal life can now be ours. All we have to do is follow Him. If you do not know how or where to start, The Answer might be here.

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Book reviews & Other Things

Horizon Homeless (click on picture)

Horizon Homeless

There are millions of people across this great land of ours that are pre-homeless. Please say hello to Bob and Tracey Slider and their son, Jake. They are a composite of so many American families that cover our land from ‘sea to shining sea’. They are among the millions of unnoticed, hardworking, Americans, locked into survival mode while trying their best to do the “right thing” every day. What happens when they are confronted with circumstances which place them on a road heading downward where the horizon up ahead turns homeless? Can they make the turn and begin heading uphill? What choices will they make? What will determine their success or failure?

The Priest and the Peaches (click on book cover)

Smashwords 2.99 Kindle 2.99 Paper 14.99

The Priest and the Peaches

Historical fiction novel set in the Bronx in the mid-1960s

Yimey knew the secret to life. He made sure his family and friends did too. Even when his beloved wife, Elizabeth, died, he kept the faith. But the booze dulled the pain and he drank too much. Then he died and left his five children to fend for themselves. They did not understand why people were calling their dad a "great man". How could that be? Alcohol had killed him and he had left them alone. Who was this man they called "Pops" but everyone else called "Yimey".

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral.

The Demons of Abadon (click on book cover)

A supernatural thriller pitting Good against Evil culminating in a final battle on The Great Festival of Torment: Click on picture for preview

Book Cover: Slippery Willie's Stupid, Ugly Shoes

Buy "Slippery Willie's Stupid, Ugly Shoes"

Smashwords:$2.99

Kindle:$2.99

Slippery Willie's Stupid, Ugly Shoes

illustrated by Lisa Klug

Willie Wiggles hates his slippery feet. He just slips, slides and spins all over the place. But what he hates even more are the special shoes that have been made for him that will help him to walk just like all the other kids. Willie thinks that they are the "stupidest, ugliest shoes in the whole world."

Discover how sometimes we worry about things about ourselves when actually there is nothing to worry about in the first place.

$2.99
24 pgs.
ebook
ISBN 9781310987854
2011

"Adorable work!" - Tampa Tribune

email me (click on pic)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Basically, I am a “blue-collar guy”. It is the world I come from, a world of hard working, hard drinking construction workers, cops, longshoremen, firemen, railroad workers, bus drivers, truckers, sanitation workers, etc. who were, for the most part, family men who loved their God, their families and their country---unconditionally. Consequently, if you would ask me to describe my work as a writer I would call it “blue-collar” meaning that I believe my work is simple fair, easily readable, no-nonsense, minimally superlative, and flows quickly. There is lots of dialogue and my tendency to be omniscient is obvious. I think that is because the characters and I are part of each other and I know what they are thinking